Menlo Park Veterans Home CEO Must Resign, Says Freeholder

EDISON, NJ – Middlesex County Freeholder Director Ronald Rios has called for the resignation of the CEO of Menlo Park Veterans Memorial Home after 62 residents and one caretaker died from COVID-19 complications.

At a legislative hearing last Thursday, relatives, residents and veteran’s advocates testified that mismanagement led to many COVID-19 related deaths at the state-run home.

Citing oversight by CEO Elizabeth Schiff-Heedles, Rios said the testimonies he heard were “alarming and tragic.”

“This testimony has made it clear to me that the leadership of this facility is not equipped to handle this pandemic, and that the CEO of Menlo Park Veteran’s Home must resign,” said Rios in a statement.

The testimonies were part of last Thursday’s Joint Senate and Assembly Hearing on nursing home performance during the outbreak.

Residents at the veterans' home testified that staff did not wear personal protective gear such as masks or gloves in March and April, while attending to them. Residents were not tested in March, and only a few were tested in April and May.

“Our veterans have served and protected us with honor, and those in this facility deserved better care,” said Rios.

According to news reports, sick and healthy residents were housed together and safety protocols not followed.

Calls for Schiff-Heedles' resignation grew after the hearing. Sen. Joseph Vitale, chairman of the Senate Health Committee, whose district includes the home in Menlo Park also called for the CEO's resignation, saying the actions of the leadership was “reckless."

New Jersey has three state-run veterans homes - in Paramus, Edison and Vineland. The homes in Paramus and Edison have come under scrutiny for their handling of COVID-19.

At the Paramus Veterans Home, 81 residents have died since the beginning of the pandemic.

On Monday, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of New Jersey urged the Attorney General and the prosecutor's offices to investigate the leadership at the Paramus and Edison facilities.

Kryn Westhoven, spokesperson of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which oversees the three state-run veterans' homes, declined to comment on the allegations raised at the hearing, as surviving family members are suing the state.

However, he told Patch that the veteran affairs department “fully support all three CEOs.”

Have a news tip? Please email sarah.salvadore@patch.com